The Rap-Up: Dr. Dre’s New Protégé

The Rap-Up is a bi-weekly round-up of all things hip-hop. Check it out every Wednesday.

Dr. Dre preps his new protégé, Queen Latifah hits the talk show circuit and M.O.P. finally delivers more hardcore rap -- read on for The Rap-Up.

Dr. Dre’s New Protégé Slim The Mobster Readies “War Music”

From Snoop Doggy Dogg to Eminem to 50 Cent to The Game, Dr. Dre has an impeccable track record when it comes to introducing protégés. The latest artist to get blessed by the Good Doctor is Slim The Mobster, who has been bubbling on the underground for a while and now has a street album, “War Music,” set to drop November 8.

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg executive-produced the project, which was produced by Sha Money XL. Furthermore, DJ Whookid and DJ Skee hosted the album, so it’s sure to have plenty of firepower, literally and figuratively. There’s been precious little top-shelf gangster rap coming from the West Coast lately, so Slim The Mobster has a prime opportunity to stake his claim.

Queen Latifah Gets A New Talk Show

She’s had hit records, been a sitcom star, ruled the box office, hosted a talk show and landed several prestigious endorsements. Now Queen Latifah will be re-upping on the talk show front in 2013 with a new daytime talk show.

Sony will produce the program, which won’t launch for more than a year in order to let some of the other talk show hosts in the post-Oprah era run their course before Latifah steps on the scene. Latifah’s show will be also be produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, longtime business partners of Sony’s and Latifah’s.

Though Latifah has kept a relatively low profile lately, her pairing with Will Smith means that all parties involved are banking on blockbuster results. In case you didn’t know, Will Smith does not like to lose.

With 50 and Jay Behind Them, M.O.P. Teams With The Snowgoons

After a stellar underground career that started in the early 1990s, M.O.P. were supposed to break through by teaming with Jay-Z’s Roc-A-Fella Records and, later, 50 Cent’s G-Unit squad.

But neither alliance proved beneficial for the Brownsville, Brooklyn duo. Instead, they just ended up in label limbo, sitting on the shelf and losing time and momentum. But Billy Danze and Lil Fame never stopped making moves and they certainly didn’t lose their edge. The pair’s new release, the forthcoming “Sparta,” was produced by the Snowgoons, a European-based production team. Although the music may be coming from a new source, the “Sparta” track “Get Yours” (shows that M.O.P. hasn’t lost any of its unmistakably hardcore edge, which is a good thing.

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